That was sort of my point - Apple kept a lot of support around for quite some time. Eventually they had to stop supporting the old hardware. They had good technical reasons to switch.
The point is that this line is *harder* than Apple's. You want an old system? Get an old computer - even if your machine was produced yesterday. Apple always made machines that could run both systems, and systems that could run on both machines.
If there's no "disable secure boot" option, there is no backward compatibility - you have no option to hold back a little bit until an application you need runs on the new operating system. You are stuck, and that really tends to annoy customers who have an established workflow.
Consumers prefer to upgrade on their terms, even if those terms are amazingly backward from a manufacturer's POV.
Re: Planned obsolecence at its best
The point is that this line is *harder* than Apple's. You want an old system? Get an old computer - even if your machine was produced yesterday. Apple always made machines that could run both systems, and systems that could run on both machines.
If there's no "disable secure boot" option, there is no backward compatibility - you have no option to hold back a little bit until an application you need runs on the new operating system. You are stuck, and that really tends to annoy customers who have an established workflow.
Consumers prefer to upgrade on their terms, even if those terms are amazingly backward from a manufacturer's POV.